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Set for first playoffs, Bloomquist on 'cloud nine'

Set for first playoffs, Bloomquist on 'cloud nine'

PHOENIX -- Willie Bloomquist winced last week when a reporter asked him about the possibility of playing in the postseason for the first time.

Friday night, amid the champagne celebration that marked the D-backs clinching the National League West, the infielder sought out the same reporter.

"Now we can talk about it," he said with a smile.

Now in his 10th big league season, Bloomquist did get to celebrate a clinching last year when he was a member of the NL Central champion Reds. However, Bloomquist had arrived with Cincinnati too late to be eligible for the postseason roster.

"This is a blast," Bloomquist said. "Other people maybe sometimes take it for granted. But for me it's been a long wait. This a cloud nine feeling, this is great. It was almost worth the wait."